TLC UP Portal Guide: Log In, Upload, Check Status

TLC UP (nyc.gov/tlcup) is TLC's self-service portal. You use it to see your license status, upload documents TLC asks for, and send requests like vehicle transfers, FHV storage and plate notifications. You log in with your TLC license or application number, your mailing ZIP code and the last 5 digits of your SSN or EIN. The first time, you also verify your email. TLC UP does not take payments. Fees, and changes to your address or email, go through LARS.

It is open 24 hours a day, on a phone or a computer. TLC publishes how-to guides in 13 languages, including Spanish, Bengali, Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and Chinese, linked from its TLC UP page.

First-time login: verify your email

Which number? TLC UP is license-based. If you log in with your driver license number, you see only your driver license. Vehicle owners log in separately with the vehicle license number, printed on the blue TLC decal on the car's window. Applicants use the application number from LARS until the license is issued.

The main page: Licensee Snapshot and alerts

After you sign in, you see the Licensee Snapshot. Click Show More + to expand it. TLC's insurance page says that for a vehicle it shows the license status and expiration date, insurance coverage dates and policy information, and the date of the last passed inspection. For a driver, TLC's guide lists fields like license status, expiration date and drug test schedule. This is the fastest way to know when your next interim drug test is due.

Below the snapshot, TLC's how-to guide describes three more sections, each with a More Info button that explains what to do next:

• Settlement Information: settlement offers on open summonses.
• Suspension Information: any open suspension and why.
• Summons Information: open summonses.

After your license is renewed or approved, TLC UP also shows the date your new card was mailed (TLC's Licensed Drivers FAQ). That date matters if it never arrives, as explained in lost or stolen TLC license.

The Menu: what each option does

Click MENU at the top right. What you see depends on the license you logged in with.

Uploading documents

Driver applicants and renewals. Go to Menu → Requirements. Click the box next to a missing item, then Choose File. On a phone you can take a photo instead. Then click Submit. Check Show Application Uploads to see each file and its review status. The meaning of each item is decoded in TLC missing requirements. A new driver application must be complete within 90 days.

New FHV vehicle applicants. TLC's FHV license page says to upload all documents in TLC UP within 45 days of paying the application fee. That means ID, proof of ownership, the FH-1 insurance certificate, a certificate of liability and, for companies, entity papers. TLC then posts your DMV plate letter in TLC UP. After you get TC plates at the DMV, you file the Plate Notification. Every step must be done within 45 days, or the application is denied.

Vehicle renewals. Cars registered outside New York State upload their current registration. Vehicles that need NYS DOT inspection upload the MC-300 report.

Insurance is the exception. Don't upload a new insurance policy in TLC UP. TLC says to email TLCinsurance@tlc.nyc.gov with the FH-1 in the owner's name and the declaration page showing the coverage dates. TLC notes that the declaration page is "not the accord."

Requests: transfers and storage

Vehicle or plate transfer. Go to Menu → Transfer, pick the type and submit. TLC emails you to confirm. If TLC accepts the request, it emails payment instructions for LARS and either an inspection appointment or a digital plate letter to take to a NYS DMV office in the five boroughs. Both also appear in your Licensee Snapshot. Don't submit the same request twice: TLC says duplicate transfer requests won't be reviewed. Base transfers are different: they go by email to FHVTransfers@tlc.nyc.gov with the transfer application.

Storage. Go to Menu → Storage. If you are eligible, a disclosure pops up. Read it, then click Submit, and a confirmation email follows. If you are not eligible, an error message appears. TLC's storage page lists the conditions: no suspensions, no unpaid TLC fines or fees, no pending transfers, not in renewal-pending status, and plates surrendered to the DMV within 60 days before. Allow 48 hours for the plate surrender to show in TLC's system. The rules are explained in taking a break from driving.

When to use LARS instead

In LARS, an e-check has no fee, and TLC's FHV page says card payments carry a 2% fee.

When TLC UP doesn't work

• Can't sign in at all? Check that you used the license number, not the plate, and the ZIP code TLC has for your mailing address. For transfers, TLC's transfer page offers an email route when you can't sign in.
• Need a person? Email licensinginquiries@tlc.nyc.gov. TLC says replies come between 8:30am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. Other inboxes are listed in the TLC contact directory.
• Need help in person? TLC lists outside organizations that may help with TLC UP for free. They are not part of TLC.

More on the portal's name and history is in the TLC UP glossary entry. To check someone else's license, use the public lists in TLC Open Data lookups. New to the US system? The immigrant drivers guide explains SSN and ID requirements. For the number of licenses up for renewal each month, see TLC driver license expirations.

General information. TLC UP features as described on TLC's pages and in its how-to guide, checked October 12, 2026. Menus may change.